Zenith
by rainbowjellyfish
Summary: Sequel to "Daybreak". How would an outsider view the Cullens and their world? Lori is hiking in the Arizona wilderness when she discovers something truly amazing! FYI: "Zenith" Starts after Ch. 15 of "Daybreak".
1. Crossroads

**This story is set in the universe of Stephenie Meyer and I'm not her.**

**_Please read 'Daybreak' first!! (at least through chapters 15-16) THIS STORY TAKES PLACE AT THE SAME TIME AS EVENTS IN DAYBREAK--starting with chapter 15 basically._**

**I hope you will enjoy this first short intro chapter. This story has been taking place for some time as those of you who have read my story 'Daybreak' will realize. **

**I also want to thank loopylinzee and diamondbutterflies for their excellent advice on rounding out this intro chapter!** **You guys rock!**

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**ZENITH**

(definition: the peak or highest point above the horizon)

**1. Crossroads**

_"Sometimes in a case, just as in life, you might reach a crossroads of sorts. Winning or losing the day will largely depend on which path you take."--_Special Agent Jonathan Reamer

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The snow had been beautiful...even welcoming after all the winter storms had passed. Almost a foot had fallen that one night and the next day the sun had shone on a white world...clean and pure with a sky so blue and clear it had taken my breath away. But I was glad that it was warming up a little. Arizona in winter was so different from in the north. When I was little it had been fairly normal to end up snowed in for months at a time...so long that the mere _idea_ of the sun would cause giddy reactions of joy. It had been great being assigned to the field office in Albuquerque. To be able to escape the monotony of work and soak up all that sun and open sky had been a relief especially during those last few months. Feeling the the cold again had been a nice change, though. I guess I did miss experiencing a normal winter.

Hiking was a plus, too. I'd always loved being outdoors...in the mountains or the badlands...it didn't really matter. This last assignment had allowed me to experience a part of the country I'd never gotten to explore before. Getting to roam over all this ancient land, soaking up the sun, it was great. I'd already worked my way through the Tonto National Forest and up and around the Mescal Mountains. The variety of scenery...the vastness and quiet of the land was both soothing and exciting. I was grateful I'd been able to take the time to really enjoy the area before I eventually headed back home.

Home. It was hard to get excited about returning to my little one bedroom apartment in Minneapolis. It seemed a world away after this last year. I knew several of my friends were waiting to see me. I had been missed, and that was something. But...it was different now. I didn't want to think about it, but I knew that I didn't really feel that I _had _a home anymore.

Grandpa was gone. I ached to think that I would never see his face again. All those long talks. All of his strength when dad had died. He was my world! How do you just go on when the pillar of all you held dear was no longer there?

And his passing had also seriously disrupted my own goals in life. Did I really want to join the FBI and continue the family tradition? A tradition that had gotten my father killed? I knew that's what Grandpa would want. That wasn't even a question. How many times had I heard his prideful speech about how 'the Reamer's were company men...and women'? Listening to him boast to his friends at parties about how the family would always be tied to the service was something I had previously smiled at and agreed with. But not now.

Now I didn't know what I wanted. Had I ever really thought about that? What _I_ wanted? No...I had to admit that my pride in both my father and grandfather had always swayed me in the direction of following in their footsteps. It was normal, I suppose, to feel that way. What else would a person do with such powerful personalities guiding your life. It wasn't like there was a dissenting vote out there, either. Or, rather, if there was, I would never know it.

Mom had left when I was a baby...she apparently couldn't handle being a mother any more than she'd been able to deal with being an FBI wife. I had seen her a few times when I was younger...but I didn't even know where she was, now. She hadn't bothered to come to grandpa's funeral. Not that that was a surprise.

Special Agent Jonathan Reamer, retired, had died a month before I was granted a second internship with the Bureau. I had gone ahead and taken the position, of course. I was still numb, but I had worked hard for the post and had wanted to make my grandfather proud. At the same time, though, I had a hard time concentrating on all I was given to do and learn. Partly because I probably already knew more about the inner workings of the FBI than most interns could imagine, courtesy of my family background. But also because I was slowly being overwhelmed with such a sense of...no longer belonging.

Even with all my family contacts in the service and elsewhere...I no longer felt that I ..._fit_ into this world that my family had lived in for generations. Working with the members of the squad and the administrative staff had, at times, been exciting and fast-paced. There had been a few cases that were particularly fascinating and while working on those I'd been just as focused and involved as I could have wished. For a time I could forget the sorrow of losing not only my grandfather but also...losing my way. Unfortunately, most of the work was routine: typing up reports and tagging evidence, reviewing documents and handling complaints. Those duties allowed far too much time for reflection.

So, when my internship had ended I traveled over to Arizona. At first I had visited friends working at Biosphere 2. That had been a welcome distraction. I had been able to work with them on a few projects, getting my hands dirty and brushing up on my limited biology. All of the real world research that went on there...discovering how the planet works and all of the environmental issues that now, more than ever, demanded our understanding...it was amazing. Thanks to my friends at the facility, I'd had the privilege to help create a small-scale working model of the water cycle and how it's dynamically impacted by the earth's vegetation. All in all, I had found it easy to lose myself there for a few months.

"You should stay on for a while," my friend, Tim Hunt, one of the five staff scientists there at B2, had urged. "With your science background...I know it's not as strong as you'd like in biology...but you've got such a brain for all the math and physics we use here. Look at how useful you've been already. This might be just the place for you to...make some changes."

He was so sweet. I had voiced some of my concerns about my future with him and his wife Yevette. We'd gone to university together and even though they were a lot older than me, we'd always been pretty close. I knew they were concerned about me and I wished that I could just agree with them and stay on at that admittedly fascinating facility. But, I also somehow knew that this wasn't what I was looking for. At the moment I didn't even know what that was.

So, I'd left and started this crazy hiking expedition to nowhere. I wasn't in danger of getting lost. That was one thing the service and my grandpa had taught me. And it wasn't as though I'd wandered into the wilderness primitively equipped, either.

I had my satellite phone and laptop. And I also had a gun strapped to my ankle. Tim had laughed when he saw that.

"What do you think's going to happen out there, Lori? Planning on taking down the bad guys in the Arizona wilderness?" I laughed but still the gun was there. I guess that was something that hadn't changed. Grandpa had taught me the trick of concealing a gun instead of depending on the one in your hand.

"Lori," he'd said. "I don't know how many times I've been thankful just _knowing_ I had a spare that no one else was aware of. It can come in handy, girl. Don't you forget it!"

And I hadn't. So there it was. I hoped I wouldn't be needing it anytime soon, though. It was still too cold for rattlesnakes to be coming out of their holes, thankfully. I'd seen some game but only a couple of smaller predators. Before heading out, I'd read up on the different hazards to be found out here and so I was grateful for the additional weight on my ankle.

I wasn't strictly hiking all the time, anyway. I would drive my rented truck for a while and park it. Then I'd hike for a few days before making my way back and moving on. The air was so clean here in the Arizona wilderness. I could see for miles...the sunsets and sunrises were spectacular, breathtaking. The area was so pristine that I kept kicking myself for not bringing a camera. The weather had kept me on my toes, too. A few times it had gotten so cold I'd been grateful to sleep in the truck's cab. But mostly I just camped out and pondered my very vague future.

I knew that the FBI was the most logical option. That was clear. With all my contacts and the favors owed my grandfather, I could get almost any post I wanted. If I chose to go that route. I didn't...and I didn't need to. The skills I had accumulated from early graduation from college, the multiple foreign languages I had worked so hard to acquire, coupled with the knowledge gained from years of being taught by my grandfather assured my place in that organization.

But that's what it felt like to me. An _organization_. At one point I'd really felt that it was a family of sorts. Grandpa's vibrant personality and keen abilities were so much a part of what the FBI meant to me that I had never bothered to truly see it for myself...with my own eyes. I realized, too, that no matter how pleased and proud Grandpa would be if I followed in his footsteps...the most important thing would be my happiness. Would it really make me happy to join the bureau?

I still admired the Bureau greatly. I don't think that could ever change. I kept arguing with myself that I should be proud to join the agency and willingly spend the rest of my life in it's service. That had been my goal for so long. At least—that's what I'd thought.

Sitting here on top of another crag overlooking the sunbathed hills and canyons before me...I wondered if any of those goals and ideals had truly ever been mine.

For a long time now, I'd been plagued by a sense of waiting. I'd always assumed that I was just anxious to finally be an official member of the FBI. Special Agent Lori Reamer. That made sense. But now...out here in all this vast wilderness, I realized that that waiting feeling was even stronger. I felt as though I was waiting for my _life_ to begin...but where, how?

This was why I was here, I thought. To think about the hard stuff...to figure some things out.

So, just what did Lori Reamer want, anyway? That was the question. I could think of a few answers. I want...to belong to something important. The FBI could give me that, I thought. True. I also wanted...I wanted a _family_! I wanted to belong to something that brought warmth to my soul and I wanted to give that back to others, as well. That's what it was. I missed family. I missed that level of belonging. And you can't get that from an organization...no matter how noble it's purpose.

Well. Now I knew what I basically wanted and needed. This should be simple! I laughed at myself for a moment. I was really back to square one because the kind of belonging I was looking for wasn't something so easily found.

Perhaps I could go back to school? I could get another degree. Try a new path? That was one road in front of me, I supposed.

A new path, though. A new start. Something different. New people? I had lots of friends but...they all came from the same world. The one I was suddenly so discontent with. Then what? Move away? But to where?

All of these thought jostled one another endlessly...until I was distracted by a sudden glint of light speeding away in the distance. I frowned as I watched it race over the far hills and reached for my binoculars. I was thankful they were capable of high powered magnification because I could tell that whatever I was seeing was pretty far away. Must be some guy out in an ATV and the sun's reflecting of the windshield or something, I thought.

It took me a few moments to find the source of the light and then I was so startled I dropped the glasses and had to scramble to pick them back out and find it again.

What the heck was _that_? It definitely wasn't a vehicle. That was one thing I was positive about. I focused in again and realized that the light had stopped moving, making it easier to see...whatever it was that I was seeing.

This made no sense whatsoever! Leaning forward as though I could get closer to what I was witnessing, I continued to adjust the binoculars until I had a clear view. And what I saw almost made me drop the glasses again.

On the ground far away sat two people. A man and a woman. They were both wearing teeshirts and jeans and he was holding on to her with both arms. I kept watching and it was hard to tell but it looked as though he was holding her down. Like he was trying to keep her from taking off again. Perhaps I was wrong. After a while they both got up and stood looking at each other, maybe talking? Then they started walking hand in hand back in the direction I had first seen them. After a few minutes they started running. And the way they ran was like nothing I had ever seen before, unless I considered special effects. They were racing away, _on foot_, so fast that within seconds they were out of sight! Their speed was impossible, astounding. No one could run that fast. It wasn't possible. However, there was more on my mind than just their speed.

I stood for who knows how long staring in the direction they had disappeared, stunned. My mind could not seem to find a logical spot for calm reflection. It was jumping all over the place, refusing to settle down. I had watched a lot of science fiction in my time. I also had a good imagination. But this? This went completely beyond what my poor brain could handle at the moment.

I kept replaying everything I had seen, or thought I'd seen. Every tiny detail. I had seen light, the sun glinting off of a far off object...but it wasn't light reflecting off of glass that I'd seen. No...nothing that simple. Far from it!

The light I had seen had come from them...their skin.

They ..._glittered_!

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**I know it's short--forgive me. I will be tweaking it a bit later.**

**Please let me know what you think!  
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	2. Stake Out

**This story is written in the Universe of Stephenie Meyer and I'm not her.**

**Here's chapter 2 and I hope you guys like it! It's a harder story to write, let me tell you! :-)

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**2. STAKE OUT  
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"_Curiosity is a powerful thing. Just one spark can light up an entire investigation."_--Special Agent Jonathan Reamer

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The light had finally faded when I lay back and attempted to resolve my thoughts. I tried to imagine telling someone what I had been seeing every few minutes for the past few hours. I laughed softly into the starlit sky and shook my head. No one on God's green earth would ever even _begin _to believe what I had seen.

That's why you bring a camera, I told myself. Proof. People only believe what they can see with their own eyes. And an 'eye-witness' report, as my grandfather used to say, was about as worthless as a three dollar bill. Especially if you've only got one witness, I thought...and that one is a lone girl, whose been out on her own for weeks in the wilderness, she's recently lost a loved one, and is having a crisis involving her life's direction. I ticked these points off in my head succinctly. I knew that those were the very points that I would list had someone else brought the same story to me...no matter who it was. It was just _too _unbelievable.

I thought about what was most likely still going on across the hills. As the light had gone, I had seen the 'runners' two more times. And the hadn't glittered or sparkled at all then. Something to do with the sun? Perhaps. They had still been able to run at speeds that were impossible. Seeing them without the sun upon them had been more difficult. I _was _able to make out a bit more detail in they features...but not nearly enough for a real description.

I still had no idea why they kept running like that. It always looked as though the girl was trying to get away...but then she would walk with the male back they way they came, often holding hands. It had even seemed as though they had hugged, maybe _more_, several times. What the heck was going on over there?

And who could they possible be? Mutants? Aliens? Human experimentation gone wrong? Who knows. I was glad of one thing, though: That I was miles away from them. The only reason I'd seen them in the first place was because they reflected light...or whatever it was they did. I didn't even think of lighting a fire at my campsite! Having no idea of what other 'abilities' they might possess, I couldn't take the chance that they'd see me.

I lay there that night, in silence, trying to think about things carefully and rationally. I couldn't just jump to conclusions. I needed to be thorough, precise, analytical. First of all, what did I know? Really know?

1. There are two of them, so far.

2. One was male and the other female...as far as I could tell.

3. They seemed to be wearing ordinary jeans and tee-shirts. (This was an assumption, though.)

4. They could run extremely fast...more than the normal speed for a human (that was putting it mildly).

5. The sun seemed to reflect off of their skin.

6. They did not continue to reflect light and/or sparkle after the sun went down.

Alright...that seemed to be a pretty good list. Now what?

The next day was a little different. I had no way of knowing, but it seemed as though whatever game or process the 'people' I was observing seemed to be caring out, had continued throughout the night. Instead of minutes passing before I would see them again, an hour or more would pass. And the female...whatever...didn't seem to be racing as fast as on the previous day. Interesting.

After a while, so much time was passing that I decided to give in to curiosity and see if there was any information on the internet regarding privately owned land in the region. This was easier said than done, but I managed to cut through some red tape and access current property line and land trust databases for the White Canyon and Mescal regions. There seemed to be several possible candidates...if these people were indeed staying in a listed habitation and not in their handy flying saucer. I grinned at the thought. Shaking my head I began the task of reading through screen after screen of scanned paperwork on local estates, ranches, abandoned properties, you name it.

Occasionally I would stop and watch the horizon for activity. It seemed to be petering out for now and that had me a bit worried. What if they were getting ready to leave the area...by whatever means they had available? I knew there was nothing I could do about it, short of hiking over there and confronting them. But that was not even remotely an option at this point. Not until I knew a hell of a lot more about them, that was for sure.

As the day wore on, I didn't see any more signs of the pair and I tried not to give into disappointment or despair. I just kept telling myself to do what I could at the moment to find out who they might be using the tools at hand. It was funny how in this bizarre moment, and for such a strange and unexpected reason, I was now really utilizing the training that my last internship should have brought me. Here was my 'practical exam', if you will. Grinning, I kept up my search.

I finally narrowed it down to three locations, all basically the same distance away. Sitting there looking at that information, I paused to contemplate what in the world I thought I was going to do with any 'proof' I found as to who or _what _those 'people' were. No matter how hard I thought about it, no matter what scenarios I worked up in my head...I honestly didn't have a single clue! Every time that realization hit me, I would end up laughing quietly, shake my head...and then go right back to my self-imposed investigation. I couldn't help myself. Curiosity had gotten the better of me.

The one thing I was not enjoying was the sheer amount of time that would pass before I would see anything at all interesting. And then it would always startle the hell out of me when I finally did. Humans are never satisfied, I thought with a smile. I remembered what Grandpa used to say about stake outs. He always said that a stake out was the definition of utter boredom, occasionally punctuated with moments of alternating coma, excitement, stress, and his personal favorite, sheer terror. He'd claimed it wasn't a real honest to goodness stake out if you didn't experience that entire list. I was beginning to see his point.

At the moment, I had not experienced the first or last required item. And for that I could only be grateful. I was nervous enough as it was. What if they saw me? What if they took me to their space ship and performed nightmarish experiments on me? Okay, okay...I had been watching a bit too much 'Sightings' recently. I confess! I'd always found programs like that to be soothing to a tired mind after hours of mind-numbing paperwork and phone calls. Now I was paying for it. The little I'd managed to sleep the night before had been frequently interrupted by my overactive imagination running away with itself. I needed to get a hold on that. As far as I knew, they had no idea I was watching them. If they did...why didn't they do something about it? Why didn't they...I don't know...attack me, or run away? Hmmm. Run away? What if that was why I hadn't seen them for most of the day? What if... ? There was no use wasting time on such thoughts. Focus, Lori, I told myself.

Time continued to pass with no sign of my 'runners' as I had started to call them. You have to call them something, I told myself. The information I had culled from the net was interesting, I'm sure, to someone...but real estate code and paperwork was definitely not my cup of tea. However, in this little investigation...Lori Reamer was the only agent in charge. So it was up to me to pour through all this data and find out if and where these people might be hiding out.

Since I was seeing no activity, I took the chance to plan out and hike around to vantage points where I could, hopefully, observe the three possible locations. This took most of the day. I was sick thinking that I might miss seeing something important...but there was only me to do the job. I chose the location I thought held the greatest hope for success and carefully made my way to a distant bird's eye view of the place. It was a no go. No one had lived there for years. I thought about the one I had chosen as second place and decided to put it last. Something about the way the paperwork looked made it seem that multiple family members might be involved. If that was the case then everything was probably snarled up in so much legal mess that no one would ever live there. That might make it a great place for a hide-out, though. Hmmm.

Still, I decided to move on to what had been my third and last choice. A ranch that lay a few miles north of my current position. According to the documents I had been able to see, a single family had owned that place for generations. Not the house itself...but the land. It seemed as thought the entire place had been virtually abandoned due to illness and death in the family about thirty years back. I had found paperwork that showed that certain members of the family had begun the process of turning it over to the state land trust. But I could find no evidence that it had actually been deeded to the state. Promising.

Hours later, I had managed to locate a safe look-out. I was still scared to death of their knowing I was watching them. One part of my brain kept telling me to cut and run. I had no business here. No good could come from this. The other part felt only excitement. It was like I was breathing for the first time in months. All thoughts about my rather nebulous future were brushed aside. _This _was adventure! This was the part of being in the FBI that I had always found so addictive. Belonging aside...the thrill that a experience like this brings is like nothing that can be described!

It took a few minutes for me to locate the old ranch. When I finally did...I was almost certain I had found the only place these people could be coming from...always discounting the space ship option. The house had obviously seen recent renovation. It was much more modern than anything I would have expected to have seen in the area. It was a long, large house, with a second floor covering half of it's base. I was seeing it from the side and could make out another smaller building that was either a garage or some sort of large storage shed. There was even a pool behind the house. Nice!

I didn't see any people but I did see a vehicle that looked like a Jeep. It was black with what appeared to be highly tinted windows. I was so far away that all of these details were fairly vague and I was debating with myself about climbing down for a slightly closer view. If I did that, maybe I would be able to see some other evidence that this was indeed where those bizarre people were coming from. Seconds later I was lying flat on my back my heart racing a mile a minute. This was the place, alright!

I couldn't tell who was who..but I had definitely seen two or more of the rapidly moving glints flit around the house and into it. After my heart managed to slow to a reasonable pace, I leaned up and looked again. No one. Great! I'm out of here. I had what I wanted: A point of reference and a vehicle.

It took some time for me to make it back to camp, but that was fine by me. I actually extended the trip by taking a much longer route away from the house than I really had to. The mere thought of them seeing me...I had to admit that I had closed in on the 'sheer terror' portion of a 'real stake out'.

Back at camp, I moved my tent and supplies a little ways down and behind an incline...thereby making me feel absurdly more secure, then I made myself something to eat and tried to get some rest. I still had no clue what I was going to do, if anything, with what I was seeing. What was the point of watching all this if I never shared it with anyone? That's when it really hit me. Despite lots of friends and acquaintances...I didn't...I couldn't think of even one person I would want to share this with. Or trust with information that might make them question my sanity. So...again...what was I doing out here?

The memory of the excitement I had just experienced was one answer. It was heady! Addictive. Just to know something like this...and what if no one else in the entire world knew about it...or ever would know about it? That was a very interesting thought. I had never been much for collecting things...books, knickknacks...whatever. But the idea of possessing this secret...now that was something else indeed.

I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes, the light was beginning to fade. The sun was still in the sky but I could tell I only had a few more hours before I wouldn't be able to see. Getting out my field glasses again, I trained them on the spot where I had seen the most action the day before. Still nothing. I was about to make myself something to eat when I saw a glint. I watched without the glasses at first because they were moving so fast. Faster than before, I thought, frowning. And I seemed to be seeing more than two. After traveling a lot father than I had ever seen the two run before, they stopped. Looking through the glasses I found them, and sure enough..there were three this time. The third also appeared to be a female...although much smaller than the first. Both the male and the new female appeared to have tackled the original girl. I waited for a long while before they all finally got up and I watched, puzzled, as the smaller one stood to one side and it looked as though the other two embraced. After a few minutes the new runner took off on her own... back, I assumed, to the house. Several more minutes passed before the others did the same.

Interesting. So there _are _more of them. Now, I asked myself, is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

I wondered how long it would be before I would see anything like that again. I didn't have to wait long. After that, at least once an hour, I saw them...all three of them...running across the desert. I wondered why three of them were doing this now and not just the first two. I laughed at myself because at times I felt as though I was on some sort of crazy safari. That was it...an alien safari! Funny!

My grandpa had said that mind-numbing boredom was a huge feature in a real stake out and I finally had to admit that he was right. After the first few hours of watching the runners race after the lead girl and tackle her to the ground...and then waiting for them to get up and make their way back...it became a bit monotonous.

How long was this going to continue? Was I going to just stay out here forever...watching them? The allure of observing something so amazing, so new, so..._unbelievable_...was beginning to fade after almost two weeks.

After a while, I stopped watching every single time they ran and started planning. They had a Jeep. That meant they were capable of driving, or someone at that house that I hadn't seen was able to drive. Where would they go? Would they stay out here in the Arizona wilderness permanently? Somehow, I didn't think so. That meant that eventually, they were planning on leaving. But to where? And when they went...could I follow them? Should I?

Lots of questions to ask myself. I got on-line and checked out the road maps for the surrounding area again. My truck was miles back to the Southeast. That would be about a day's hike...maybe more. The only road I could see that went anywhere near this area was 177. There was also 77 to think about. The intersection at Winkelman might be just the place, I thought. If by some chance there was some lone dirt road that led out from that house that I couldn't account for, then there was no way I would be able to spot them when they left. Not without camping out way to close for my comfort.

That left Winkelman. If I could set up camp there..maybe even rent a room or something..I was thinking longingly about a shower by this point...Then I would be in a great position to watch for that Jeep when it either went North or South on 177 or North on 77. It was the best I could do. But when to leave?

I ended up waiting for another week. Thankfully, there was a creek about a hundred yards from my campsite that, despite being freezing, was able to handle my bathing requirements for the time being. I was only grateful that I'd brought enough rations to last at least this long.

Watching the runners...I began to sense a pattern. A few days of three runners would be followed by a few days of the original two and then that would peter off until I didn't see them for at least a day, maybe more. Then the entire thing seemed to start right back up again. Strange habits these runners had...whoever they were. By the end of that last week I had only seen them twice more. Now was as good a time as any to pack up. Maybe they still had a lot more of this odd pass-time, or what ever it was, to do...I didn't know. What I _did _know was that I was running short on food and desperately in need of a hot shower and a comfortable bed.

So I broke camp and started the long hike back to the truck. Many plans rattled around in my head...as well as questions. Where would these people go when and if they left? What if I waited for days and they never came through Winkelman? Should I go back to my lookout and see if they were still there? How long should I wait before doing that?

Another set of thoughts also weighed on me...not nearly as exciting or pleasant. How long was I going to do this? What about going home? What about my friends? My apartment? School? The FBI?

I still hadn't made any progress towards deciding my future. For now...all I could see was three sparkling people running on a hillside under a blazing sun. The wonder of that, and all I had seen, struck me again and I turned to look back the way I'd come. Somewhere, miles back there, was a secret...my secret! No matter how scared of them I had been, and still was, I felt in that moment a strange sense of...possession. I would keep this secret safe and for some reason, this made me laugh. Turning, I hiked the rest of the way back to the truck whistling an old tune I'd often heard on my grandpa's lips.

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So there you have it, Chapter 2. The next chapter will involve Lori waiting for signs of these strangers (aka the Cullens) to hopefully appear in Winkelman (a real town, btw!). After that...the 'Road Trip' through Lori's eyes :-)**

**I hope you like the story so far. Let me know, ok?**


	3. Anticipation

**This story is set in the universe of Stephenie Meyer and I'm not her.**

**Here is the third chapter of Zenith--I hope you like it!  
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**Please read and review! Thank you!!! :-)  


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**3. Anticipation**

_"Time never moves as painfully slow as it does when you're waiting for a case to break."_ Special Agent Jonathan Reamer

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Hot water has to be a gift from the gods! I was so grateful to finally get to take a nice, long, hot shower that I was even able to stop brooding on the fact that I'd had to drive all the way to Kearny to find a hotel. I would have settled for a room for rent or a B &B but no! Winkelman was a very small town. Very. They had some camping facilities but that was it. No doubt had I known someone there or been the least bit connected I could have gotten a room in someone's house. But those situations did not apply. At the same time, I really didn't want everyone knowing my business, either.

Being out on my own for that long always left it's mark on me. The few times I had walked off into the wild for one reason or another, I'd had to deal with a pretty strong anti-company reaction afterwards. I guess that's natural. If you've been alone with your own thoughts for a while, then you might crave some conversation. On the other hand...if you'd been gone for more than just a while...it would take a person a little longer to adjust to civilization again. Whether that was a natural reaction or not...it seemed to be the way my brain dealt with things.

Towel drying my hair, I plopped down on the bed and flipped on the news to catch up with the world. It only took a few minutes to realize I didn't really want to know that much and turn it off again. I got up and put on some clean clothes. The non-hiking kind. It was nice to sort of change skins like that. Looking in the mirror, I could see that I was almost the same as before I left the world a few months back. The the mirror projected the image of a girl with fairly long, light brown curly hair, still slightly damp, light green eyes and a few more freckles than I'd had before. Need to wear more sunscreen, I reminded myself. I always found my coloring to be so strange. Here I was with a nice light tan _and _freckles! Oh well.

Getting back to the issue at hand, I debated with myself whether or not I should actually spend the night here. I was so nervous about the possibility of losing my quarry. On the other hand, a good nights sleep would make it that much easier to follow them...if they ever did show up. Ok, then, one night. Just _one _good nights sleep and then I'd head back to Winkelman and stake out the intersection.

That night my dreams were plagued with the thought of those people leaving by a different route, or leaving that night and me never seeing them again. They had become a strange obsession with me. I had to know more. I just _had _to!

In the morning I headed out after calling a few friends and letting them know I would be out of touch for a while and that they'd see me when they'd see me. Most of my friends were pretty used to me disappearing like this, anyway...so they weren't too surprised. Jeffery was a little miffed. I'd been seeing him off an on for a few years. Never anything serious, but I had begun to sense that he was getting more and more interested in taking our relationship to levels I wasn't interested in...at least not with him.

I'd met Jeffery in college and we'd hit it off fine. He had been dating a friend of mine and we all got along so well that after a while we were sort of the three musketeers. Then they'd broke up and I switched majors. After a while we all sort of drifted apart. After graduation I'd seen him again and we'd started dating a little. Again..it wasn't serious or even all that romantic. We just got along well and knew most of the same people. Our schedules kept us too busy for much interaction, although I sensed he wanted more. However, being a pediatric intern took ninety-nine percent of his life and my efforts to get into the FBI swallowed up most my free time.

He'd gone with me to the funeral, of course, along with several of my other friends. He'd also encouraged me to reconsider that last internship and stay in town...possibly with him. But that wasn't an option for me at the time. Perhaps had it been someone else? I don't know. I did know that I didn't feel the same for Jeff as he felt for me and I was sorry about that. He was a good guy. He really was. And he cared about me. But...I don't know how it is. When you find the one you need to be with...aren't you supposed to feel more than mild affection and tepid attraction? More than just having similar friends and backgrounds? I know that all of those things make a great friend...but do they necessarily make the best life partner?

More food for thought...as though I didn't have enough on my plate.

The drive back to Winkelman seemed to take forever. The horrible feeling of having missed them kept washing over me in waves. Why hadn't I just camped out to begin with? What if I'd missed them? Was there anything I could do if that were indeed the case?

When I got to Winkelman I drove over to the gas station and after buying a few supplies I tried to ask, as casually as possible, if they'd seen anyone in a jeep drive through town recently. I found out that there were several people in town who drove jeeps but none that fit the description I gave them. I stopped pursuing it after the guy started looking at me funny. Time to back off, I told myself.

I ended up driving around the sprawling metropolis of Winkelman for a while before heading back to my base camp. This lovely local was across the intersection from the 'Minit Market' on an odd side street that paralleled 77. It was an undeveloped area so I was able to pull over into the trees and make myself comfortable in the back of the pickup. Thankfully, I'd brought a pack of cards with me and so I played hand after hand of solitaire until it got too dark to see.

After that I made myself as comfortable as possible while contemplating the fact that I was dealing with one of three situations. 1.) I was too late and they had already come and gone and I was just wasting my time...a terrible thought after all I'd seen and been though to get to this point. 2.) They were coming and would be here soon. My personal favorite, obviously. Or, 3.) they had no intention of leaving for a very long time, if ever, and might even be taking some route unknown to me. That one was almost as bad as the first.

Wrapping myself in my 0 degree sleeping bag I tried to settle my thoughts and focus on the waiting and the seeing. I had a feeling I was in for a lot more of the first before I got to the last.

The next few days proved that to be true. I spent my time driving around, shopping at the Minit Market and forcing myself to gossip a little with the locals. I had no choice in this as I was a stranger hanging out for no apparent reason in their small rural town. Oh well. It was a small price to pay and everyone was friendly, thankfully.

Of course, the idea that I must have missed them somehow grew within me like gangrene. Several times I had to stop myself from taking off and having a look again at that house and seeing if they were still there. If I had missed them, maybe I could search the place. That was my last choice idea...I was holding it in absolute reserve just in case my worse case scenario proved to be true.

In the meantime, my empty days left lots of room for brooding on my vague and shapeless future. I kept going back and forth. More college? FBI? Another internship, if I could qualify or pull a few strings. That last option didn't really appeal. What did I need with more internship experience. If I was going to do it at all...I needed to just ...do it! Join the service and be done with it. Another internship was not going to help. Well, that was one down, I guess. So...college or the Bureau. Or I could do something crazy like take a trip--a non-hiking trip. Perhaps visit Europe? Asia? I could use my savings for it and Grandpa had also left me quite a bit.

It wasn't the money, though, or the time, or the places, or even the options. I simply felt...adrift. Apathetic, I guess that's the word. I just couldn't seem to get excited about anything in my life right now...none of the options seemed to really matter any more. It was like having to choose between several things that you didn't really care about. So what was the point?

On the other hand, here I was in the middle of nowhere, camping out in the back of my truck, waiting on the off chance that a bunch of...aliens? mutants? whatever...would hopefully come driving by in their handy dandy jeep. What was that about?

Oddly enough...this was the one thing that _did _excite me. I couldn't help myself. Every time I thought about the things I'd seen...my heart would start racing and a strange chill would course through me. The mystery of it..the secret I now held. What did it all mean? Where were they from? How were the able to to what they did? Did someone do that to them? Were they hiding out from some crazy scientists or government agency gone rouge? I chuckled at that. My grandpa used to say that we didn't know a third of what went on in the government and all the sub levels of the different agencies...and he didn't want to know, either.

"There are some things, Lori, that are better left unknown. If you did, most likely you'd want to fix it...and it'd end up fixing you."

He was probably right..but the allure of finding out about something so impossible, so unexplainable...it was addictive!

This must be how different people I'd heard about ended up working for the craziest conspiracy causes. I remember hearing about this one guy that had been nicknamed 'Mulder' because he was always coming up with the weirdest explanations for things. I'd heard that he'd finally been dis-invited from the FBI ranks and had joined some spaced out paranormal group based in Toronto.

There was no way I was going down that road!

But this was different. I _had _seen this. With my own eyes, over a long period of time, and I didn't care about telling anyone about it. Not right now anyway. I wanted this for myself. It was the one thing I had to hold onto, I guess. This secret. Weirdly enough, it had become the one ray of light and life in my strange grey existence. And I was determined not to let it go...at least not until I had some answers to take with me.

That was all well and good...but how long was I supposed to wait!

As it turned out...not too much longer. Almost two weeks after I'd begun my stake out of the intersection of 177 and 77 in the tiny town of Winkelman, I caught a break.

I'd been playing another endless round of cards in the back of my truck using my flashlight to see. It was well after midnight and I was tired and grumpy, beginning to get thoroughly discouraged and also beginning to believe that they really had left the area a long time ago. The town at night got really quiet. The only time this had not been the case was when the local football team, the Lobos, had apparently blown their opponents out of the water. It had been a loud and victorious evening, I can tell you.

Tonight was another story. It was cold out and I hadn't seen or heard the sound of a car in over an hour. I was just reshuffling after my last lost hand of solitaire when I heard a vehicle approach the intersection. Looking up more out of habit than true expectation, I saw it. Finally! A black Jeep, it's windows clearly darkened. I couldn't believe my eyes! It came to the intersection at a pretty high speed and then then headed north on 77. Within minutes it had raced out of site.

My heart was pounding in my chest. I couldn't believe it! I was paralyzed for about half a minute before I grabbed my gear and stuffed it back in the truck and took off after the racing Jeep.

I had studied maps of the area extensively over the last few days and I knew that unless they had some other remote location to go to in the are...the next decent sized town was Globe.

Now I thought about how few cars I was passing and wondered if I should turn off my lights. It had taken me a while before I'd finally spotted their vehicle again and I didn't want to lose them. I also didn't want them realizing I was following them. I decided to stay as far back as possible. This was a long road and there could be any number of reasons why a car might be behind them. As far as I knew thy had not way of knowing that I even existed. I told myself to calm down and just see where this took me.

Globe wasn't that far away and we got there quickly. When i say quickly, I mean that whoever was behind the wheel of that jeep drove like a manic. I couldn't keep up! Finally I had to just hope that the traffic lights in Globe would slow them down.

When I reached the town I was looking around frantically for any signs of the jeep. Fortunately, the driver had decided to be a bit more cautious, it seemed, when in town, so I caught up with them. We'd almost passed through town when the jeep pulled into a car rental place. Okay...this was unexpected. They rent cars?

I drove on past the place and pulled into a gas station about two blocks down and waited with my field glasses pressed to the window. The door opened and the small female got out. She was really tiny. The security lights shone down on her as she pulled several suitcases and things out of the jeep and then dropped her keys in a night box. There was no one else with her.

I watched as she gathered her stuff to one side and sat down on one of the cases apparently to wait. But wait for whom? I had only seen the one vehicle. Had there been another in the garage type building I'd spotted? I would have to wait and see. Meanwhile I was getting nervous about how close I was to her. I went ahead and got out of the truck and filled it's tank , though. I had no idea how long this might take and I didn't want to have to stop too soon and risk losing them. After that, I pulled out and drove about four more blocks..still within sight of my binoculars.

It's weird how you stop thinking when your doing something like this. I don't mean all together...it's just that over the next hour or so I don't really recall thinking about anything...not what I'd seen those people do, where it had all happened, what I thought it might mean..nothing. All I could do was just focus on the moment. Watch the girl. See what happened next. Be ready to follow. Simple and direct. Watch...wait...be ready.

This must be what my grandpa used to talk about...being in the zone. It was a lot like tunnel vision, too. He always said that a good agent should be able to focus on what was going on and not what it might mean...speculation had to come second, not first. Keep to the moment, he'd say. Keep to the moment or the moment you're looking for might just pass you by.

Crouching in my seat, my field glasses digging into my skin, I waited.

As I watched something began to bother me. It took me a while to figure out what it was. The girl I was watching had been sitting there waiting for a long time. What I mean by that is that she sat there _unmoving_...minute after minute. She didn't stand up and walk around. She didn't look around her, cross her arms differently, uncross her legs...nothing. As far as I could tell, she was a tiny female statue, a mannequin, not a living person at all.

It was unnerving, to say the least.

While I pondered this odd phenomenon, headlights appeared in the distance and the girl jumped up as though she'd been shot. With my heart racing I watched as a hummer of all things drove into sight and pulled into the rental agency parking lot. The window rolled down and I saw what looked like the male I had seen before. I couldn't tell what was happening but after a second the small girl's things were all stowed away and she got in the vehicle which quickly pulled away, passing where I was parked.

I waited for several minutes before starting after them. I hadn't seen the other girl, but this had to be them. I was assuming, too, that they were headed towards Phoenix. That's what I hoped anyway. Thinking hard, I made the decision to catch up for a while then allow them to pull way ahead. I also began debating whether or not I should get a different truck or car at some point and how I would work that and still stay up with them.

I had some new information to work with, too. I knew that they had rented a car back in Globe. Perhaps I could get some information about where they were going or where they came from if I gave the car rental people a call in the morning.

Driving into the blackness of an Arizona night, plans and ideas streaming through my brain, I thought once again about secrets. Some secrets are for sharing. That was true. Then again...some secrets were for keeping, enjoying, reveling in. I was following just such a secret right now. It was driving away just up ahead of me..in a dark grey Hummer.

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**I hope you liked it :-)  
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**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!  


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	4. The Chase

**1. This is written in the Twilight Universe of Stephenie Meyer and I'm not her.**

**2. Here's chapter 4. I really hope you all enjoy it! This chapter and the next overlaps chapters 15 (Road Trip) and 16 (Unexpected) of 'Daybreak'. After that, the two books will diverge until near the end of Daybreak. That's all probably too much information. I'll probably end up removing this info later. :-)**

**Also---I wrote this from the point of view that when the Cullen's create identities for themselves...they really try to go all the way. They wouldn't be using multiple id's because that might raise suspicion if they were ever checked. So they have one clean set of id's at a time. I hope that makes sense.**

**Thanks to loopylinzee and diamondbutterlies for their help in polishing this chapter!  
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**3. Please Read and Review! Let me know if you like it, hate it, think something should or could be different. I'd really appreciate it! Thank you!!!!**

**_--READ 'DAYBREAK' (up through chapters 15/16) BEFORE READING THIS STORY!!!!!!!--_  
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**4. The Chase**

_"I've heard people say that the journey is more important than the destination. That might be true...but it sure is good to know where the heck you're going!"_ -- Special Agent Jonathan Reamer

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"Jeez!"

Gasping, I hit the brakes to avoid slamming into the car ahead of me, all the while trying to keep the Hummer in sight.

This must be what it's like to race in Nascar or the Indie 500. What were they thinking? How on earth was I supposed to keep up with them at these speeds? Are they crazy?

This was never going to work. I needed gas..... and a bathroom break, for that matter! I also desperately wanted to change vehicles and get something to eat. This was getting out of hand!

There was only one way I could let them get out of sight and that was going to take some doing. Racing ahead, praying to the heavens that they wouldn't somehow finally realize they were being tailed, I crept up closer to their car than I'd ever allowed myself to get .

"Steady....steady....,"

Focusing as hard as I could I stared at the license plate.

"Got it!"

Decreasing speed slowly I let them race ahead. I felt like I was in some sort of surreal race where I was the only participant aware that the race was on in the first place...and I was losing, too!

Tailing the hummer had become a nightmare! I had obviously never participated in a live car chase in my life. Read about them, was familiar with various procedures having to do with them, heard stories about them...sure. But, even so, I knew in my gut that no one had ever had this situation to contend with. I'd bet hard money on it. Chasing a car that didn't seem to need gas....yet. Traveling at speeds that had me wondering where on earth the cops were in this county. And all of it to find out where a group of mutants or whatever happened to be traveling to. Yep---happens every day.

I had a few leads now, though. The car rental place had been pretty helpful....not that they had agreed to tell _me _anything personally. But this was when having contacts really paid off. I'd called the field office where I'd interned last and talked with Sheryl. She then called the rental agency and asked about the jeep that had been dropped off there last night.

I was so glad that I'd been able to talk with her and not the two agents assigned there. They might have gotten nosy. But Sheryl's a researcher and so laid back that I simply had to tell her that I thought it might be an ex-boyfriend and I had her hooked. She's a bit of a romantic, thankfully.

So I now knew that the Jeep had been rented to someone named Mary Alice Cullen out of Washington State. Probably not a real name, but it was something. If this license plate gave similar information...that would be a _huge _break for me.

Of course I couldn't call her again and ask if _this _vehicle might belong to my fabled ex. That would be pushing things a bit. She'd stop viewing this as romantic and start thinking I had issues or something. So who to call? Several people came to mind...but the best bet was Lloyd Cramer. He'd had a crush on me during my first internship and now worked as a field agent out of Chicago. Slowing down a bit more, I pulled his name and number up on my laptop...risking my life and others....and dialed.

"This is Lloyd." He always answered the phone as though everyone who called must be a close friend. I smiled. He was a pretty nice guy.

"Lloyd! This is Lori, Lori Reamer. How are you?" Just keep it casual...simple is best.

"Lori? Wow...long time no hear! What have you been up to lately? Oh....," I heard the pause. He knew about Grandpa.

"Hey..sorry to hear about Jonathan! He was a great man!" His voice had lowered and I could picture the genuine regret on his face. Lloyd's mentor had trained with Grandpa and so he'd been hearing stories about Jonathan Reamer for years before he'd actually gotten the chance to meet him.

"Yeah.....it's been tough." There was a definite pause as we both tried to find a way back onto safe ground. And I really didn't have time for this unwanted drama.

"I completed another internship back in December." That's pretty safe. Thankfully, he was as eager as I to change the subject.

"Really? Where were you based?"

"Denver."

"Did you get a chance to meet Scott Fletcher?"

"Fletch? Yeah...he's...quite a guy!" Quite a clown! I could only imagine that he and Lloyd would have hit it off.

"Yeah--great guy!" He chuckled and I laughed, too, in an effort to keep the ball rolling.

"So....what's going on? Why the call? Just catching up?"

"Well, actually, Lloyd, I was wondering if you could do me a bit of a favor?"

"Really? What?"

"I'm actually driving through Nevada at the moment and I'd swear I just saw a friend of mine....their car at least.....speeding by and, well...I was just wondering if I was right. I guess I'm just curious because," think fast, Lori! "Well, to be honest, it looks like it's a friend of mine with someone _other _than his wife...if you know what I mean?" Please take the bait, Lloyd! I know you. You're a great guy...but you love gossip.

"Really?" He whistled long and low. Oh yes...I got him. "Yikes! I'm assuming you got the license plate?" I could hear the tapping of computer keys.

"Right here."

"Ready when you are." I read off the numbers and repeated them. More tapping occurred.

"Just for _you_, Lori. Probably shouldn't be doing this, you know."

"I know! I really appreciate it, though. I only hope I'm wrong."

"Too right!" I had to stop myself from laughing. I knew he was hoping that it really _was _happening. Some people loved to hear the woes of others..and pass judgment. This was one of Lloyd's little character flaws...but it was really coming in handy right now! I could hear him pause and then a bit more typing.

"Okay.....here's your info. You ready?"

"Yep."

"Looks like you've got a Hummer, H2, 2006...Grey...Sound like your vehicle?"

"Yeah--that's it."

"Okay....," he paused again for a moment. "Seems to be registered to a Carlisle Cullen, Location....Washington State, town of Forks. Does that match up with your friend or his family?"

"Nope!" I heaved a pretend sigh of relief while anxiously writing down all I could as fast as I could while still trying to drive relatively safely. "What a relief! That's the same model, though. It just threw me off...it _really _looked like him!"

"Oh....well...that's _great_! Glad to ease your mind." I could hear the subtle disappointment in his voice. Too bad, Lloyd. "He must be a good friend of yours for you to go to all this trouble." Fishing, are we?

"Oh yeah---we go way back. College. I'm just so glad I was wrong, you know?"

"I hear you."

"Well...I'm risking my life talking to you on the phone like this while driving," we both laughed. "But seriously, the traffic _is_ starting to build so I'd better let you go. I really appreciate your helping me out like this. Even if it was for nothing!"

"Don't mention it! Glad to help. Hey---don't leave it so long before I hear from you again, okay? And the next time you make it over to Chicago, give me a call."

"You're on, Lloyd! Talk to you soon! Bye."

"Bye."

I sighed deeply as I ended that call. Wow! I had a match. Cullen. Both the rental agency and now the plates. Great work, Lori! I only hoped that the location was real and not a fake. Forks, Washington. Never heard of it.

Up ahead I saw a gas station and thought quickly. This stretch of highway went on for miles. If they really were heading to Washington, this was the best and fastest route. Almost the only route unless you used a million tiny farm roads and highways to get there and with the speeds these people were traveling, I didn't think they'd like the multiple stoplights you'd have to deal with that way. That meant I had a bit of time.

Pulling over, I pumped gas while searching for the closest car rental agency. Luckily, I found one fairly close...about two towns away. No need to fill up the tank, then. I raced into the gas station and got a bottle of water and a bag trail mix, then broke down and bought several candy bars and a few cans of coke. I didn't want to have to stop too often and I needed the energy. Of course, I also didn't need to be taking too many bathroom breaks either. Speaking of which...that was something I needed to handle asap.

Back in the truck, I paused one more moment to get the number of the rental agency handy to call and then searched for Carlisle Cullen on the net. I didn't find much, but what I did find was gold. There it was, as clear as day.... a Dr. Carlisle Cullen on staff at the Forks Community Hospital. Contact information was listed. Bookmarking the web page I once again began my pursuit.

Having a location calmed my nerves quite a bit. But it also made it all that much more real. I had a destination now. These people were obviously heading to this Forks place for whatever their reasons. So that's where I was heading, too.

"'Doctor'....hmmm. I wonder?"

What if....maybe my idea about an experiment gone wrong wasn't so far off after all. Mutants created by some Frankenstein doctor. I'd heard this plot before. Chuckling to myself, I dialed the rental agency and arranged to get a smaller, and faster, vehicle.

The exchange of vehicles took longer than I'd hoped. It was quite a while before I was on the road again but I felt better knowing that I was now driving a much faster and more powerful vehicle than that truck. Hoping that my quarry hadn't gone ahead and taken some other, less obvious route, I tried to make up time by going a lot faster than I was comfortable with.

Every few seconds I kept thinking that this was it....the cops are going to be pulling me over any time now. Slowly but surely my nerves were getting all twisted up again. But what else could I do but try to catch up a little.

I'd traveled for most of the day before I finally spotted them. It did help that there was some sort of traffic jam that must have slowed them down. The cars ahead of me crawled slowly forward for a while before I could see that it was actually some crazy construction project blocking several lanes that was the true cause of the problem. Once we had all managed to creep past it, the road cleared and everyone, including the Hummer, took off. It wasn't long before I was racing to keep them in sight again.

They say time flies when you're having fun. It also tends to fly when you're scared to death you're about to get caught chasing people that might be able to fry your brain. Between worrying that the police would finally realize that I was driving like a maniac, and the fear that the people in the Hummer would figure out they were being followed, I was sure the stress of it all was going to do me in.

On the other hand, I hadn't felt so alive in months...maybe even longer. The more I thought about it,the more it struck me that when you live for others...that's not much of a life. You can be happy that you're making _them _happy....but is that true happiness?

I thought about my grandpa...Special Agent Jonathan Reamer. How would he feel about all the encouragement he'd given me to join the FBI if he could know my thoughts now? Would it make him happy to know that, for all intents and purposes...much of what I'd done in my life up to that point was merely to try to live up to his expectations? Knowing him...I didn't think so. Realizing that put a lot of things in perspective for me. Not that all my questions and future plans were by any means cleared up. However, at least my options now felt less guilt-ridden.

Nevada came and went and soon I was making my way through California. I couldn't help but think of the different friends I had there. The fun I'd had that one summer when we'd gone to Disneyland practically every single day because we'd gotten passes. For one moment I considered breaking up the monotony of this insane road trip by calling a few of my friends and seeing how they were doing. But I couldn't afford the distraction.

I thought my heart would explode a few hours later when that elusive Hummer raced past me. How in the _world _had I managed to get ahead of them? Had they _finally _had to get gas? Or food? Or have some version of a bathroom break?

Once my heart settled down I let my speed drop dramatically. This really was ridiculous. It was obvious that they were indeed heading for Forks and I now knew where that was and where this Doctor Cullen worked. With that information there was no real need for me to tail them so closely or try to kill myself by attempting to match their speed.

The best thing for me to do now was decide if I wanted to try to push on through Oregon tonight or get some sleep and start fresh in the morning. After the heart attack I'd just suffered, I felt in need of some rest. And logically I knew I'd be no good on the road if I didn't get some sleep soon.

I made a few calls, found a roadside inn a few miles up and made reservations for the night. Despite the excitement I was experiencing in this crazy chase, I was bushed. Knowing, hopefully, where they were headed really helped me to take stock and calmly evaluate what I needed to do...even if a part of me was still nervous about losing them.

That night I did a bit more searching on line and found out a little more about the town I was traveling towards. It was pretty small. From the images I was able to pull up, it was a very green area. Lush, even. I guess it _would _be when it rained more than nine months out of the year there.

I also found some references to other Cullens in the area. Family, maybe? There were several listed in the newspaper archives as having recently graduated from high school. Perhaps these were the Doctor's kids? Do mad scientists send their kids to public school?

I had to stop assuming things, I told myself. "You'll know what you'll know when you know it," Grandpa used to say. His way of telling me that to assume anything based on flimsy evidence, or none at all, was pointless and sometimes even dangerous. Keep an open mind, he'd tell me before recounting some messed up story about a case he was working on or _had _worked on in the past.

The next day was spent driving at a more reasonable pace through Oregon and on into Washington. The moment I crossed that state line, a new level of excitement hit me. I was getting close. Close to what, though? The answer? But what would that mean? What would I do with it once I found it? Questions, questions.

This was a gorgeous drive. I'd turned off of Interstate 5 onto highway 12 and headed toward the sea. At one point I had to pull over. I'd reached a place called Gray's Harbor just outside of Hoquiam. Fishing boats were coming in and birds were flying through the air...the sun had managed to peak through the clouds for a moment. I just sat there staring at the water and the gold-edged clouds, smelling the salty air. Beautiful!

Soon I was passing the outskirts of the Olympic National Forest. I couldn't help but wish that I had the time to explore that mysterious temperate rainforest. Maybe soon? It all depended on where this crazy chase was leading.

One long stretch of the highway 101 bordered the Pacific ocean. I probably drove the slowest through that area. Being from a more land-bound family, you might say, I'd never gotten to spend as much time as I would have liked near the ocean. The best I had been able to achieve was regular trips to the Great Lakes. That had been nice....for a while. But this was.....awe inspiring.

And then....I had reached my destination. Forks, Washington was just up ahead. I slowed as I entered the small town. Taking my time, I let myself look around, taking this new site in. This is where they were headed. Did they stay here regularly? Were they just...I don't know...visiting? Were they here to continue the genetic manipulation experiment headed up by friendly Doc Cullen? Who knows.

The question now was...where to start. I had to figure out a way...a simple and non-suspicious way...of finding out if my glittering friends had gone to the hospital or to some other location. Did the Doc have some sort of secret lab?

A thought occurred to me, suddenly. It was awfully cloudy here. Those people hadn't seemed to sparkle when the sun wasn't shining on them. Did that have something to do with why they were here? Then why had they been out in the Arizona desert to begin with? Why not stay someplace where you might not get noticed? I was sure there was a reason even if I couldn't see it.

The hospital seemed a good bet for information. I had to start somewhere!

After getting directions off Google, I made my way to the fairly small but efficient looking hospital. There actually _was _more than one road here, I mused. Being a weekday I felt that there was probably a good chance that the good Doctor might just be in and I didn't know if a confrontation with him right now was in my best interest.

Wandering the halls of the medical center I located a nurse and casually asked if she knew where Dr. Cullen's office was. She pointed me in the right direction and I was soon standing in front of the closed door leading into his rooms. What to do now?

After waiting in the hallway for a few minutes pretending to know what I was doing there, I saw a man in a white lab coat approach the door. He was older, perhaps in his sixties, with grey hair and glasses. I watched as he grabbed the door handle...it was locked. He looked put out and stopped a nurse who was passing by.

"Have you seen Dr. Cullen? I have some papers for him to sign."

"No, doctor. He finished his round early, remember? He said he had some family business to take care of and would hopefully be back a little later."

"Well I hope I can get these signed before his trip. I need this done." They parted and the older man walked briskly away, muttering to himself and staring at the papers in his hands.

Okay..... So the good doctor wasn't in after all. And what was that about a trip? I was starting to get nervous again at the thought that I might miss this odd group of people after all I'd done to track them down.

Now I had to decide if it would be worth it to try and ask someone here if they knew where the Doctor lived. Probably not. Hospitals have policies and procedures....I didn't want to raise any red flags. So where to go for information?

I left the hospital and got back in my car and pondered the situation. When it comes to asking for information when you don't want to cause any suspicion it's usually better to ask a regular person on the street instead of any type of official. This is a doctor I was looking for. In a small town. Probably everyone knew where he lived.

I drove back to the main road and pulled in to a gas station. I felt this would be the best bet for quick information. The kid behind the counter looked to be about high school aged...maybe a little older.

"Excuse me. Do you happen to know where Dr. Cullen lives?" The girl raised her eyebrows at this and shrugged.

"Sure." That seemed to be all she was willing to give.

"Could you tell me where?" She looked at me for a moment before shrugging again.

"I guess. Hold on." And she came out from behind the counter and walked outside with me. Pointing down the road, she gave me directions to a location several miles outside of town. It looked to be quite a drive. I thanked her and got back in my car.

What to do now? After Googling the area described by the gas station clerk, I saw that it was pretty remote. I wouldn't be able to just casually walk past his house or anything. But maybe this was better. I could always hike through the surrounding forest and maybe that way I could get a look at what was going on at the good doctor's house without being seen. It would be just like when I was in Arizona....except I would have a whole lot more cover.

As I drove through town and made my way towards my ultimate goal, I started to get that sick feeling you sometimes get in the pit of your stomach when you _know _you're about to do something really risky. I remembered a time when I had accepted a dare to climb a certain cliff face when I was fairly certain that I was _not _the best equipped to handle the challenge. It had taken all my nerve and I _still _went through several moments when I was absolutely sure that I would need to be rescued.

I was getting that feeling now. But who in the world would rescue me if I botched this up? I was still in a position to back out. I didn't have to do this right now, anyway. I could find a hotel, wait a while and try to find another way to get another look at my strange glittering people.

Or was I fooling myself? That doctor at the hospital had said that Dr. Cullen was supposed to be going on a trip somewhere. What about that? What if I decided to wait and I lost them for who knew how long while he was away somewhere. That's assuming that he would be taking his experiments with him.

I felt so torn but I also knew how sick I would be if I let this chance slip away. I'd come so far! I knew where he lived. Those people _must _be there too. That's the only thing that made any sense.

Parking my car off the side of the road about a mile or more from where the doctor's house was supposed to be, I got out my backpack with my field glasses and other gear, and started my trek.

The area continued to astound me with all it's lush greenness. It wasn't flat, either. I had to hike up several steep tree covered hills and embankments leading to small creeks and streams. It was a sort of jungle...all ferns and tall trees. Even the light that came through was slightly green. The sounds of running water and birds in the trees was very soothing. It lulled my nerves and allowed me to think more clearly about what potentially lay ahead.

Who was this Dr. Cullen? And those other names....Mary Alice Cullen from the car rental place. Was she the same as the Alice Cullen who had graduated, according to the paper, last year. What about the other two names I'd found? Emmett Cullen and Edward Cullen. Could one of them be the sparkling male I'd seen in Arizona?

I was pondering those names and who and what I'd seen in the South when I was suddenly and shockingly confronted by a young man standing directly in front of me. He hadn't been there moments before. Of that I was certain. He looked as stunned as I felt and we stood there in silence just staring at one another.

I had started to say something to him when it occurred to me that he looked a little like the male I'd seen in Arizona. At that moment he gasped as though I had slapped him and took a strange step back. I was sure my eyes were as wide as they could be as it slowly sunk in that I was now confronting the object of my search...face to face. I couldn't speak. I could barely breath. I've been scared before at different times in my life...but not like this! Something about this man...I don't know what it was...but I _knew _that I was in danger, and that I had better tread lightly.

I started to back away as slowly as I could and he was abruptly right in front of me again. I saw a strange expression on his face...as though he was undecided. And then I was shocked out of my wits as he grabbed me, swung me up in his arms and took off running. And when I say he was running...it was more like we were flying! I wanted to scream. In my mind I _was _screaming....but my voice seemed to be permanently lost.

And so was I.

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	5. Caught

**This story is written in the outskirts of the universe created by Stephenie Meyer--and I'm not her.**

**Special thanks to diamondbutterflies and loppylinzee in getting this chapter ready for the world!**

**This was a very difficult chapter to write because I had already covered what had happened in Daybreak (Chapter: Tangled) and it's really strange to walk back through an event through another person's eyes!  
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**Please please please please review!!!!!!! Thank you! :-)  
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**5. Caught**

_"For better or for worse, there are always consequences to sticking your nose where others don't feel it belongs."_ -- Special Agent Jonathan Reamer

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What kind of nightmare was this? It couldn't be real. No way. To be plucked up and practically flown through a forest by some genetic experiment from the back woods....what else was I supposed to think I was experiencing?

And then to be confronted with even more...people, persons...whatever. My heart was already threatening to stop from the first encounter and now _this_? My captor stopped running for a moment and I had the impression that the three new males were looking me over....for what reason, I had no idea. What I _did _see was that two of them looked a little like the man carrying me. The other was taller and darker...bigger slightly, and seemed younger. All this happened in a blur, however. I could barely form a rational thought at this point.

After a moment, we were flying again and this time, when we stopped, we were in a house. After I was put down and had caught my breath, I tried to look around me for a moment...tried to get my bearings even though my heart was racing so much that I felt like I was going to be sick.

Suddenly a voice piped up...high pitched and feminine. And the words it uttered floored me almost as much as anything else that had happened so far.

"So _there _you are! I've been wondering when we'd finally see you!"

Looking around for the source of this bizarre pronouncement, I saw the small girl I had observed outside the car rental place in Globe, Arizona. She was smiling so sweetly that the utter sense of unreality I had been battling since I was confronted by my captor went into overdrive. Perhaps I really _was _dreaming. For a moment I felt faint and then experienced a second severe shock when the man who had carried into this enormous white house abruptly propelled me over to a couch and firmly made me sit down, all without uttering a word.

I looked around again after I had managed to swallow my galloping heart and saw the stunned faces of those around me. It only took me a moment to take in their expressions as well as the almost abnormal beauty of the group confronting me. They were stunning...almost _too _beautiful. I could imagine that seeing one or two of them wouldn't make a person think anything was odd...but, all together like this....it was obvious that I was dealing with something way outside the ordinary. As if the impossible speeds they could apparently achieve or their amazing reaction to sunlight wasn't enough to confirm any suspicions I already had about these....whoever they were.

And now there were eight of them...besides the two native-looking men. Breathing slowly, I tried to stay as calm as possible and looked slowly around the room. Perhaps I could at least discover more about what in the world I had landed myself in. The room was large and mostly white. Clean. Fairly modern in style. I was the only one sitting and it was unnerving having all these strange people stand around me and stare as though _I_ was the bizarre one in the room.

The group now seemed to be talking quietly to each other. I noticed that one of the males that resembled my captor seemed somewhat older than the others. More...distinguished. Calmer...even though I could feel his intent stare just as much as that of the others. As I cautiously glanced around me and tried to get my nerves under control, the older-looking one suddenly approached me causing my heart rate to soar. I watched nervously as he came to stand in front of me.

"My dear.....could you tell us your name?" His voice was very cultured, with a faint English accent. I opened my mouth to speak...but no words came. I couldn't seem to find enough breath to allow sound to leave my throat. This was probably a good thing because in the state I was in, I would probably have started screaming.

"My name is Carlisle. Carlisle Cullen. What's yours?" My eyes widened as I took in his name. Carlisle Cullen? As in _Doctor_ Carlisle Cullen? As in Doctor Frankenstein himself? My breathing became ragged as I realized that I was truly in the lair of whoever or _whatever_ these people were. My mouth closed firmly as I came to the decision to stay as quiet as I could about anything and everything I knew. Not that I would have been capable of much speech anyway.

He stepped away from me frowning slightly and looked, surprisingly, worried. Several short moments passed as I watched quick and strange whispered conversations pass between the pale members of this strange meeting. These odd moments ended abruptly as the one who had caught me stepped a little forward. When he spoke it seemed that he was addressing himself more to the older native man than his own 'kind', but listening to him... I knew finally and completely that I was lost.

"Her name is Lori Reamer. She's been following us since before we left Arizona." I heard a gasp and honestly assumed it came from me. But I was wrong. In a completely numb state I glanced to one side and saw the girl that appeared to be the one I had seen being chased all those times. She was staring, not at me but at the man who had just uttered these impossible words.

How could he know this?

"Her family," he paused looking from the native, to the girl who had gasped and then on to all the others. His expression was grim...stern. He suddenly did not look much like a 'young man' anymore. With heart racing I listened as he continued. "Her family is FBI. Father and grandfather. They've...passed away. She's in training..._has _been training to join the FBI herself."

My brain reeled as I took in the shocked stares of those around me. No matter how shocked they were it could not even begin to compare with what I was experiencing at this moment.

He _couldn't _know these things. It was impossible!

"She was hiking in Arizona when she saw...when she saw _us_. Running," he paused again as I somehow noticed that the native men had horrified expressions on their faces. In fact, they seemed to be more upset by what the...the, I don't know...._mind-reader_...was saying, than any of the others. The older one shook his head slowly.

"She saw you...running? _How_? How could you let that _happen_? How could she have seen you in the dark....?" He trailed off looking even more horrified, if that was possible. The all-knowing one simply nodded.

"It was daylight...a bright sunny day." His voice was flat. Emotionless. And it scared me more than anything else I had experienced so far.

Silence reigned for several moments. I was practically unaware of this, though, as I was dealing with a brain that was trying not to shut down completely. All my training...all the experiences I had had over the years...nothing could have prepared me for this insane situation. It was something straight out of the Twilight Zone!

Something caught my eye causing me to glance back at several of the group that had moved closer to each other while I had zoned out. One of the girls...surreally beautiful and somehow more fierce looking than the other females confronting me...seemed to say something that upset the others. I watched as the largest of the pale men apparently backed her up and the others looked even more upset and extremely worried. What was going on?

The male and female I'd watched running the most in Arizona joined the doctor and the older of the darker men and walked away from the others to one end of the huge white room. Some sort of serious conversation ensued that I couldn't hear. Meanwhile, the others kept staring at me and at each other.

The entire situation was beyond unnerving. It was every inch the nightmare I had been comparing it to...and yet my blood tingled. I felt more alive than I'd ever felt in my life.

I remember my grandfather telling me that during moments of intense stress while working on certain cases, an agent could at times experience a strange adrenaline high that rivaled any drug. It was only natural...and it was extremely powerful. Having never experienced any moment that could ever have caused such as rush, I'd only had his word to go on before. Now I knew. It was heady...intoxicating. Here I was, frightened to death, and freakishly loving every second of it. Either grandpa was right or I had something seriously wrong with me. Maybe a bit of both.

The smallest female piped in again with her little sing-song voice.

"She's gone! I can't see a thing!" What she meant by that I had no idea. But the others seemed to get quite stirred up by this cryptic announcement. They regrouped but this time they weren't looking at me. They were looking at the older native-looking man.

I had not really looked at him much up to this point. He was huge. Both of the darker men were. His black hair was just a little long, tied in a small ponytail at his neck. His eyes were very solemn as he looked briefly at me then at the doctor.

"I know the choice that Bella made and I respect that...but I can't and won't allow that to happen against someone's will, Carlisle...and I know that you don't want that either," he paused and glanced at me again. What was he talking about? Was this some reference to the crazy experiments the doctor had been running on these people and maybe even himself?

"You've just told me that your family has some pressing issues to deal with. I've told you that I am in favor of a more friendly and flexible treaty." What 'treaty' was he talking about? I felt like I'd walked in on a strange movie about half way through with no clue as to the plot. I listened intently, though, as he continued.

"In the spirit of good faith, then, I propose that the girl be turned over to me and mine for the duration of your time away. In the meantime...perhaps a solution will present itself." What was going on? I wanted to scream those words but my throat still seemed frozen.

I don't really know how long I sat there staring numbly at them all before the doctor approached me slowly.

"Lori? You will have to go with these men. This is Sam Uley," he gestured toward the older man who had just spoken, "And this is Seth Clearwater," he directed my attention to the younger native man who I had first seen in the woods after being snatched up and raced into this freak show. "They're friends. They won't hurt you. You have my word. _Our _word on that."

"Do you understand?" He was speaking slowly as though he knew the shock I was dealing with. Knew it and was even...concerned about it. Odd. I forced myself to nod even though a part of me was suddenly upset that I would be leaving the objects of my chase...all the effort I had expended to get here. Then the thought came to me: what was going to happen to _me _now? I had the distinct impression that I was not going to leave with this Sam person for a short visit before being allowed to go cheerfully on my way back to Minnesota. The omniscient one spoke up again.

"She has a rental car a couple of miles back. It's parked just off the main road."

By this time I was too numb to process this latest bit of clairvoyance. I simply stared as the 'Sam' person nodded and glanced at the younger one, Seth. I felt an odd breeze and then watched as my keys, moments ago in my pocket, were dropped by the mind-reader into Seth's outstretched hand. The younger native glanced at me before taking off. Everyone stood around softly talking while we apparently waited for Seth to bring my car around.

I watched as two of my original quarry joined hands and the female leaned her head on the other's shoulder. He glanced down at her and I was able to see the sweetest expression flicker across his face. It was so tender, so _loving_, that I felt a strange twinge of jealousy. Not, of course, for the man. I couldn't imagine wanting someone that intense in my life full-time. But to have someone feel for me what this man so obviously felt for her....that must be something else indeed. He looked up then and caught my eye in a long stare that confirmed both of my thoughts. Too intense, yes. But this man didn't just _care _deeply for the girl. He _worshipped _her! It was in his eyes, and it made my heart turn over in a way that I'd never experienced before. His eyes said so much in that moment. I saw that he was more upset by my presence than I could have imagined. He was not unemotional as I'd thought. He was boiling over with feelings too intense to be let loose on me: the stranger who they were evidently trying not to scare more than necessary. He was upset about me and for me, too. I saw that plainly.

Seeing that...my original impression that I was in danger began to fade. Was this man dangerous? Definitely! They all were, about that much I was absolutely sure. But did they mean me harm? No. I knew that now. How? I couldn't say. But I had the feeling that anyone who could move as fast as they obviously could, was more than capable of dispensing with me in a highly permanent way....if that was indeed what they wanted to do. But I was still alive. So it looked like they must want to keep it that way. At least for now.

That still didn't answer the burning question of what in the world was going to happen to _me_.

The sound of a car pulling up alerted me and the rest of the odd group that my ride was here. I wondered who was going to be my chauffeur? What about their car? The one called Sam walked over to me.

"Lori? Come with me, okay?" He spoke quietly and calmly, but it was not a request. I got shakily to my feet and glanced briefly around the room at the strangely beautiful people, some if not all of which made running seem like flying and sparkled like crystals in the sunlight. Catching my original captor's eyes again I tried once again to say something...anything. He smiled slightly and I saw the girl at his side do the same...but I saw something else, an odd look in her eyes. I couldn't put my finger on it until I was outside and climbing in a daze into the passenger seat of my own rental car. Then it hit me and the sense of unreality washed over me yet again. She had looked concerned, yes. Worried. Serious. Those were expressions I'd been seeing all afternoon. But this was different. On top of all the other emotions I'd seen flicker across her face, the one that had so struck me was...respect. She had looked at me as though I'd impressed her in some way.

As we drove away into a future that was more murky than I could have ever imagined hours earlier, I couldn't help but wonder who that girl really was. What had been going on all that time in Arizona? Why had they been there? And after seeing that look, I wished more than ever that I could have spoken to her while I'd been _right there_. To have had the opportunity to talk with them and have frozen like that! It was more than frustrating. It was embarrassing!

Whoever and whatever that girl was...she may have been impressed with _me _for whatever her reasons were. But I was highly disappointed with myself.

The irony of my situation was an odd distraction amid my feelings of fright and shock at the crazy turn of events I was now dealing with. Earlier today I'd been wondering what on earth I was going to do with my life. And by 'life', I really meant career. I almost laughed at the thought. This morning my career choices had been uppermost in my mind. And now look at me. I was being practically abducted by strange men and taken God knew where after being caught while attempting to spy on aliens, mutants, or whatever strange species of human I'd just encountered. My career was no longer even a dim issue in my brain. But oddly enough, my grandfather, Special Agent Reamer, popped into my mind at that moment. I could hear him clearly.

"Lori," he used to say. "Sometimes life has a way of putting things in perspective. Just when you think you've gotten your path all figured out...that's when the universe pulls back the curtain and shows you what's _really _going on. Or, more likely, it gives you just a glimpse. After that, it's up to you to stay and watch the show."

I didn't know what 'show' I was in for, now. But about one thing I was absolutely positive, and that was that Act One had given me a more than healthy dose of perspective. I only hoped I'd survive the Acts that were surely to follow.

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	6. No Answers

**This story is written in the wonderfully expanding universe created my Stephenie Meyer and I'm not her.**

**This is a quiet chapter after a lot of tension. This story is way harder to write than  Daybreak so I really appreciate all of your patience!**

**This chapter takes place while the Cullens are in or on their way to Italy (Daybreak). The next chapter will have Lori meeting Claire and her confusion about that situation and also she will meet Billy Black and learn more abut recent events involving the Cullens and the Quileutes. She may even see something else she wasn't supposed to.  
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**6. No Answers**_  
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_"A good agent has to have the patience of a saint." _- Special Agent Jonathan Reamer

The morning light finally woke me and opening my eyes I looked blearily around a strange room. Several moments passed before the memories of the previous day started to surface. It was like trying to recall a very strange dream. Bits and pieces floated through my mind trying to connect themselves to something solid, and failing again and again. My brain felt like mush...fried mush.

Images slowly began to fit together and I sat up in bed much more alertly. Could all that have been real? Impossible! All the faces of the different people I had seen, met, watched... It was too much to take in. And where was I now?

Sleep and stress were dulling my thinking but the answers finally started coming to me, causing my heart rate to pick up speed and my nerves to tighten. I was in Sam Uley's house. That was right. I remembered coming into this room. There had been a lady with him. What was her name? Emily. Okay. That's one answer. There was something odd about Emily's face. I remember wondering about it briefly before they walked out of the room, leaving me alone.

How had I gotten here, though? My car...where was that? And my gear? I tried to focus. The drive from Forks...I remembered that. It had been long...and mostly silent. Sam had driven. The car had seemed to be over-full with him sitting in the driver's seat. I imagined, looking back, that it had been hard for him to fold his long body into my small car. Perhaps that's why the other one, Seth, hadn't come with us...or more likely he'd had to drive the other car because he hadn't come with us, but he was there when we pulled up to what was evidently Sam's house. It had been dark when we arrived so I couldn't see much.

A tap on the door startled me and I watched warily as the door opened to admit Emily. She was smiling and I could see, once again, that one side of her beautiful face was pretty badly scarred. What could have caused that?

"You're awake? Hungry? You slept a long time and I didn't want to disturb you... It seemed like you must have had a pretty...hard day yesterday." She smiled again and stood there waiting for me to reply. Feeling like I was still dreaming, I pulled myself up further in bed and tried to act as normally as possible.

"Yesterday...yes that was pretty...hmm...tough," I looked at her wondering if she might offer to shed some light on my situation but she just smiled understandingly. Her expression confused me a bit. It was as though she felt sorry for me. As though she knew all that I had been through. Well..I supposed that Sam must have filled her in.

"You want some breakfast?" She asked again. Then she glanced around the room and shook her head grinning. "You need your clothes, too, don't you? Wait a second," and she disappeared leaving the door open. So maybe I wasn't a complete prisoner after all? Within moments she was back and had all my gear with her.

"I'll just let you do what you need to do. The bathroom's down the hall and the kitchen's back this way. I'll have some coffee waiting for you, okay?" She smiled again and disappeared down the hallway.

Jumping up I grabbed my stuff and immediately checked to see if what I thought was true. Yep. No phone. No computer. I had expected no less, but it jangled my nerves a bit to have my suspicions confirmed.

I thought about what I should do about it. What _could _I do? Several moments later I took fresh clothes to the bathroom, showered and changed. There was nothing to be done except wait and see. I had no phone or computer to call for help. I had no idea, really, where I was. And I still wanted answers. Maybe the best plan was just to play along and see what information they would be willing to share with me. Or what information I could sniff out for myself. They couldn't keep me here forever, that was obvious...so what were they planning to do with me?

The kitchen was homey and warm. I could smell something sweet baking in the oven and the aroma of coffee beckoned. Emily was pouring a cup as I walked into the room.

"Here you go, hon'." She smiled and handed it me gesturing towards the sugar and milk on the little kitchen table. All was silent for a moment as I doctored my coffee and sat sipping it. I glanced around the room and into the living area that had several couches and chairs..as though a lot of people regularly hung out there. I could see out the from windows. The room was very bright with outdoor light and I could see a little of the road and trees. The silence stretched and I looked back to see Emily watching me kindly.

"You have a nice house," I said politely. What do you say to you jailer? She smiled proudly and something about her struck me. She had such confidence. I realized that this surprised me. I had known several people in my life that had through accident or defect been malformed in some way. Usually that person was extremely self-conscious of their scars...hid them from others...even avoided company because they were afraid that others would stare. But Emily...she simply glowed. Her beauty was marred but not her spirit. I could actually sense the happiness and contentedness that radiated off of her. It was oddly intimidating.

"Thank you! I've tried to make it as homey as possible. With all these big guys rough-housing around all the time, it's hard to keep a place nice, you know." She grinned again and looked around as though she was remembering specific events where the neatness of her little home had been severely disrupted. She didn't seem upset about it, though. On the contrary, she seemed amused.

"You have kids?" I asked in reference to her 'big guys rough-housing' comment. She didn't seem old enough to have a lot of big boys to raise. She shook her head, still smiling.

"No, hon'. But my husband and his friends are always over here and that's almost like having a pack of kids to deal with." She laughed softly to herself at this. I nodded as though I understood and sipped at my coffee.

"I'm making cookies right now but I saved a plate of eggs and bacon if you're interested?" I nodded gratefully as my stomach reacted pleadingly to the idea of food. I worked my way through breakfast swiftly as my mind worked furiously wondering what to say or ask. Emily came to my rescue unexpectedly.

"I'm sure you have a thousand questions about what's going on and I really feel for you. I do. I don't really know what you might already be aware of...and I can't promise to answer everything you might need to know...But I'll do my best. If you feel like it, why don't you tell me what happened..from your point of view. Maybe I can shed some light. Okay?" She sat there with her hands folded in front of her waiting patiently, calmly. I looked at her for a moment before finishing the food on my plate and getting up to rinse it off. Sitting back down I took another sip of coffee and a deep breath.

"I don't know where to begin, " I paused looking down at my cup before meeting her incredibly understanding eyes. "To be honest, this all seems like a strange dream at the moment."

"I can only imagine," she murmured. Trying to think how best to put everything I'd seen and done over the past few days into some semblance of order, I looked up and met her eyes again and gave up. Within seconds I was pouring out everything I'd been through over the past weeks. All I'd seen and what it had led me to do. And the entire time Emily simply sat there, nodding occasionally as though I was merely confirming what she already knew. At times she looked a bit surprised but she always remained so calm and focused. Her peace helped restore my own so that by the time I was done venting, I felt my inner calm and focus return. I felt centered again.

It was strange hearing out loud all I had seen...even in my own voice. On some level I had never really expected to share what I had seen with anyone. It had been my own personal, private secret. A treasure of sorts. Something to protect. I laughed as I shared that thought, too, with Emily. She seemed surprised and, oddly, saddened by that final comment and I couldn't help but wonder as that expression flickered across her face and then was gone, leaving only her serene and flawed beauty behind. She got up suddenly and checked her cookie and I poured myself another cup of coffee.

"Thank you for sharing all that with me, Lori. I almost can't believe all you went through to get here," and she smiled a bit sadly again at that. I shrugged and focused once more on my coffee.

"I want to tell you so much," she said unexpectedly. I looked up to see her frown for the first time. "I truly believe that you deserve to know the answers to your questions and I hope that Sam will understand that." She smiled then and leaned forward. "I think that might happen. But Lori...I need for you to do something in return."

"What?" She looked out the window for a moment as though she was expecting someone.

"I need you to be open-minded...and patient. There's a lot I can't tell you right now. It's not my story to tell. It's up to Sam. But I think you might just be able to ...," she paused again and I heard voices outside the front door. Emily shook her head and smiled.

"Getting close to lunch I think." She got up and opened the fridge and started pulling food out, obviously getting ready to feed a whole lot more than one person. The front door opened to admit Sam and Seth. I thought I heard more voices from behind them but they were the only ones to come in the house.

I watched as Sam walked quickly to Emily's side and kissed her deeply, holding her so close. It was as though he hadn't seen her in days not hours. I turned to see Seth watching me.

"Hey!" he said with an awkward wave. He was a lot younger than I had previously thought. And he also seemed a bit nervous. Again feeling as though I as participating in some bizarre dream where you just had to accept everything around you no matter how strange, I smiled back.

"Hello...It's Seth, right?" He smiled at my apparent friendliness.

"Yeah...that's right. How are you today? Did you sleep okay?" He moved forward and pulled out a chair near me. I hadn't realized just how big they both were at the Cullen's house the night before. Here in this tiny kitchen, they seemed huge. I wondered if they were brothers or something although they had quite different features.

"I slept fine, thank you." I looked up to see Sam frowning slightly as he looked at me. I had no idea what to say to him and he seemed just as conflicted. Glancing back at Emily he gave her a little hug before moving toward me slightly.

"Lori...I think we need to talk." He looked around the room before glancing back at me. "Perhaps outside would be better?" I got up wondering what was now in store for me and if I was going to meet whoever it was that hadn't come in. But when we moved outside I saw that there was no one around. Just the road and the trees. I suddenly wondered what had happened to my rental car. Sam saw me glance where he had parked it last night a smiled slightly.

"I took it back to a rental place...so you don't have to worry about it." Oh-that was just great. And I didn't see any other vehicle in the area, either. How did he get back then. Maybe someone had dropped him off? I guess that was the same someone who must have his car now.

We walked away from the house. Sam led me up a tree-covered slope that overlooked the ocean. It was a beautiful sight! The wind was cold but not unbearable. We stood in silence for some time just letting the wind rock against us. Finally Sam walked over to a fallen tree and sat down and I followed him.

"You need to know that nothing like this has ever happened before...so I'm not sure how to handle this situation to begin with. I'm sure there are probably a dozen different ways to do this...I can only imagine what some might suggest." He paused and looked away with a frown. Mystified, I just sat there waiting silently.

"You saw something that I'm sure you realize by now you should _not _have seen." He glanced at me and I found myself nodding. The grim set of his face must have mirrored my own because he looked away after a moment and silence returned to the hilltop.

"The crazy part is...you don't even have a _clue _what you saw!" He got up suddenly and paced away from me before coming back and standing over me. "This situation...," he seemed to be considering his words very carefully, "This is not something that can be handled easily or quickly. You have to understand that more than just your...interests...are at stake here. A lot more." What was he talking about now?

"You may not really know what you saw...but what you _did _see...that's not something that anyone was ever supposed to know about." He sighed deeply before sitting back down. "Lori...I can't tell you how much trouble this is going to cause and I also can't tell you that you can just go home and forget everything you saw." My heart rate kicked up a few beats per second at that last part.

"You can't just keep me here forever." I stated quietly. His eyes shot to mine and then away.

"A lot needs to be decided...and that's not going to happen today or any time soon. You may not understand what you have gotten yourself into here, but I hope you are able to comprehend that this...all of this...is very serious. Very serious indeed. The Cullen's...," he trailed off.

"Who are they? What's the big deal with them? Are you like them? Are you the same as...," and I stopped quickly. The look that had come over his face was not hard to read. No matter what kind of friendly situation existed between the Cullen's and Sam...he did _not _categorize himself with them. And the flare of temper I saw flash across his face told me he didn't appreciate being compared with them in the least.

"The Cullen's," he said in a very clipped voice, "will be returning to the area within a few weeks and I've promised to keep you safe until their return." He looked away and took a deep breath. After a minute he looked at me again and his eyes were much calmer...even understanding.

"You know so little . . . and so much at the same time. I'm sorry about. . . . They _are _different. You know that. You _saw _that. We haven't always . . . gotten along, you might say. But I hope to work on that. They aren't . . . ," he paused. "They are _good _people. Different but good. You should know that at least." He got up as my mind tried to work with what little he'd told me. What did he mean by 'We haven't always gotten along?' Who were 'we' anyway?

"You _are _safe here. No one will hurt you. But you have to stay here until they return. That much is certain. We'll talk more later, okay? I _know _I haven't answered your questions and I know you must think that's terribly unfair . . . but I have to think more on your. . .situation. . . before I can just . . . . You'll have to be patient, alright? Can you do that? Because if you _can_, I see no reason why your stay with us couldn't be very enjoyable for you. Who knows," he smiled suddenly letting me see that he was probably a very nice guy under all his mysterious talk. "You might like it here more than you think." He walked a little ways away before turning back to me.

"I think lunch might just be ready. There'll be a few more people at the house when we get back. They're . . . friends. _Family _really. Don't worry about them, okay?" I took a deep breath and got up.

"Sure." He grinned at that for some reason and led the way back to his house.

Even before we entered I could smell hamburgers cooking and hear many more voices than just Emily and Seth.

The house seemed crowed beyond it's humble capacity. Trying to count as Sam led the way into the kitchen, I made out at least four more men . . . all of whom were just as big as Sam and Seth. What were they feeding these guys for them to all get so big? Sam had called them friends . . . but then said 'family'. Maybe there were all related in some way? 'In the same way that the Cullen's were related?' a tiny voice whispered in the back of my mind. I shrugged that thought off as the others turned to stare at me. I'd been looked at by guys before, but not like this. They were obviously not interested in me in the way other men might be. Their stares held curiosity . . . even astonishment.

"Guys . . . this is Lori. Lori . . . let me introduce you to my . . . friends. This guy here is Embry." One of the giants grinned at me and waved. "And here's Paul." Another grin. "And here's Quil and Jared." Both men waved and went back to eating their burgers. They were all so big that it took me a moment to realize that even though they looked a lot older than Seth, they also seemed young. Strange.

Seth walked over and offered me a glass of coke.

"Thanks," I said and he grinned down at me bashfully. I could tell that he was going to be the easiest to be around even if he was just a kid. The others were just too...big!

"So, Lori?" I looked up to see the one called Embry watching me with an odd expression on his face. "You saw them? That must have been . . .," he shook his head and I saw Sam frown over at him. "Wow! And Bella's back?" He looked over at Sam then and then grabbed his burger and took an enormous bite.

"Yes . . . I saw them. And I don't know who Bella is, exactly." Was that the name of the girl my curiosity had lured me into watching? Why did this guy care about that, anyway?

"Bella! You know . . . ," he paused and looked up to see Sam's reaction. Sam frowned again but then met my eyes.

"You saw three of the Cullen's in Arizona, Lori. The man was Edward. The little . . . girl . . . was Alice, his sister. And the other one was Bella. She's Edward's . . . wife." I was getting edgy at all the pauses and wondered why they were being so careful in everything they said to me. I mean, I already knew all this, right? Then why act like that?

"Then yes, she's back." I looked to see if anyone would say anything else but they seemed to be hesitating for some reason even though I could tell that the one called Quil wanted to ask me something and so did Embry.

"I saw them in Arizona, but I didn't know who they were . . . or what," I mumbled the last part and the one called Paul burst out laughing earning a fierce frown from Sam and and swat on the arm from Emily who was trying to edge her way past them to bring me my sandwich.

"Here you go, Lori. I know you just ate breakfast but you could use some more food in you and I think these guys need to get back to whatever it was they were doing and let us girls have a little peace and quiet for a bit. What do you think, Sam?" She turned to look up into his suddenly adoring face and smiled. He leaned down and kissed her swiftly causing my romantic heart to jolt. Seeing Bella and Edward's obvious love last night and now this...I didn't know if my little heart could take too much of all this. It was strange to see such intense signs of love all around me, be able to identify it so clearly, and still know that I had never experienced anything like that. I wondered if I ever would?

"Quil, my sister just told me she's going to Seattle tomorrow with Megan. Are you keeping Claire or do you want to bring her over here. I don't know what you guys are up to, so if you need another baby-sitter I think Lori and I can stand in for you." Quil smiled thankfully at Emily.

"That would be great...only for a little while, right Sam?"

"We have a few things to work out . . . Claire will be fine with you two girls." Sam smiled calmly at Quil and I wondered if he was married to Emily's sister or something. It's always weird to listen in on conversations between people that you aren't connected to. But it looked like I was going to be here for a while no matter what...so I thought I might as well get to know everyone. That way I stood a better chance of learning more than Sam was willing to share with me at the moment.

The guys all filed out except Seth. I watched as the other five walked down the road and out of sight. Emily was washing dishes and Seth stood on the porch looking after the others.

"Are they just walking back to town or are there more houses behind those trees?" I asked smiling. Seth turned to look at me, a startled expression flickering across his face.

"Oh...no. They're walking for a while. There are a few more houses in that direction, though." He grew quiet and I was considering walking back into the house and helping Emily when Seth spoke up timidly.

"I know you're probably really upset about all this and I don't blame you, really." He was so quiet that I could tell he didn't want Emily to hear what he was saying. "I couldn't believe it when I saw Edward carrying you. Never in a million years would I have _ever _thought that anyone would see them . . . or _follow _them the way you did." He looked at me with an expression I interpreted as admiration. He was awfully young. He looked back into the house before saying anything else.

"I can't tell you anything that Sam hasn't said already but I can show you around the Rez if you want. You...I know you have no way of knowing all that's happened here with the Cullens and all but I want you to know that Edward...he's a great guy! He really is. A real stand up guy and Bella...he really loves her, you know? So...you have to understand that we...I...," he gulped and looked back into the house. "I just wouldn't want them to be upset or anything. They just got married and they've been through a lot." I had the feeling that he wasn't telling me everything but I had been given a deeper glimpse into whatever was the strange relationship between these natives and the Cullens.

"Thank you for telling me that, Seth. I only wish you could tell me more." I waited as he looked down at his shoeless feet but he didn't offer any more information. "And thank you for the offer to show me your reservation. I've never been on one before so I'll need to know my way around." He looked up and grinned at that. The banging of dishes brought me back to the moment.

"Maybe later, though. I think Emily might like a little help." I turned to go back into the house and Seth sat down on the porch. Walking back into the kitchen it suddenly hit me that Seth wasn't just hanging around.

He was standing guard.

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	7. Lay of the Land

**_It's been a long time...hope some Zenith/Daybreak fans are still out there :-) (Remember: this story overlaps the events in Daybreak.)_**

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**7. Lay of the Land**

"_Identifying potential informants is a key step in any good investigation." -_Special Agent Jonathan Reamer

Walking through the reservation, it was a bit difficult to hang on to the notion that I was actually in another country. First of all, everyone spoke English, as far as I could tell. The roads were all paved and the street signs were a bit different but not that much. Telephone wires crisscrossed the sky and although there were not quite as many as you might think, the cars were definitely the norm: Toyotas, Fords, Chevy's…etc. More pickup trucks and obvious fixer-uppers than you might see in a big city…but this was definitely not the big city, right? It was just another sea-side community, for all intents and purposes. Of course, there were the _other_ signs. The totem pole outside the Tribal School, for instance. You just don't see that every day.

My current situation was even more interesting than the surroundings, of course. It was nice to get out of the house for a change. Not that Emily wasn't one of the nicest people I've ever met…which she definitely was. But it was difficult to escape the feeling of being trapped, held prisoner, even if the prison usually smelled of cookies baking and was the center of activity for a bunch of rough and rowdy boys. It was fun, as long as I didn't think about the looming "why" of my being there.

And there was the fact that I was not walking about town by myself. Heaven forbid! Nope—I had my trusty guide/guard Seth following me around and showing me the sights.

"Do you like it?" Seth asked as we looked up at the totem pole in front of the aforementioned school. I nodded.

"It's cool," I said, trying to climb down to his level. He was a definite sweetheart no matter what his assigned role was in my life at the moment.

He was also very young. I had finally gotten around to asking him his age, which embarrassed him quite a bit. He actually sort of blushed when he told me he was almost seventeen. He'd blushed even more at my obvious astonishment. I had thought he was younger than me, but not _that_ young! He'd then rushed to say that all 'the guys' were younger than I probably thought…which led to more embarrassment when he apparently realized that he probably shouldn't have said that…_why_, I didn't know.

"The marina is very picturesque," I commented honestly. It reminded me a little of Grays Harbor and I was glad to get a chance to see something like this up close. Seth grinned.

"It's pretty, right? I love watching the boats go off. Of course, the smell can take a bit of getting used to," he smiled down at me as he watched my nose wrinkle in agreement. The aroma of fish and sea and salt was everywhere, but not unpleasant.

We'd walked all the way North from Sam and Emily's, AKA 'the jailhouse'. I was surprised at how long it took us to reach obvious signs of civilization. Seth had said there were more houses 'in that direction' and that was true. But it had taken us almost an hour of pretty brisk walking to find them. Oh well, I guess these guys liked hiking.

It was a small town but busy. There couldn't be any more than a thousand people in the whole place. Probably a lot less, I thought. I'd seen the small clinic and the tiny grocery store. The walk had cleared a lot of cobwebs out of my brain and restored my self-confidence to a large degree. Thinking more clearly, I knew that at any moment I could always dart up to someone with a cell phone and place a call that would have me out of here in no time flat. For all his size, Seth was too much of a sweetie to stop me. Of that I was certain. And if he did try…well, I didn't relish the idea of scaring the kid, but the fact remained that I did have a gun and if these folks were stupid enough not to notice that fact when they had the chance, then that was their problem not mine. Okay, that was a bit cocky of me, I know. But it felt good to be one up on these…whoever they were. Nice or not, the plain truth was they had every intention of keeping me here despite any wishes of mine to the contrary.

"So," Seth interrupted my thoughts. "What's it like where you live? The 'big city', or what?" He grinned down at me again and once more I wondered how these guys got so big. I'd had a chance all day to compare them to the other male members of the community and they definitely stood out…by a factor of ten or more! Shaking my head softly to get my thoughts in order, I replied:

"Pretty much. Minneapolis. You ever been there?" He shrugged his broad shoulders and shook his head.

"Haven't really been anywhere, really. Life on the Rez and…other things…keeps me close to home, I guess." He looked wistful, but I hadn't missed the hesitation. What 'other things' was he referring to, anyway? The Cullens? That would fit, of course, but it was hard to believe that he and his friends could be so involved with them. From what Sam had so briefly and vaguely mentioned before, they hadn't always had the relationship they now did with those oddballs. There had to be more than that going on, but what? Without his knowing it, Seth had already given me more information. It was not much at all….but it was definitely something to add to the whole.

"Well, you should try to get out more," I said jokingly. Keep him talking, Lori, I said to myself. Grandpa had always said to keep informants happy. "Make them feel glad to tell you all their secrets," he'd instructed. "If they think they're just chatting with a friend, you're much more likely to stumble across information that not even the best interrogation could have revealed." Okay...friendly. Not hard at all considering who I was dealing with: an enormous over-grown teddy bear of a boy too eager to please to guard his words completely. Somewhere down deep I suddenly felt a pang of guilt for even thinking of using Seth this way. But did I really have a choice?

"Get out more! Great idea," he grinned and shook his head. I had the feeling that he was thinking about something a lot different when he said that.

"Or maybe not?" I asked with just a hint of question in my voice. He shook his head again and seemed to consider.

"No. I see what you mean. It would be great to see other places. I mean...the Cullens just got back from Italy! Wow! I wonder what that was like, right?" He was honestly excited about the idea but he had left something out, too.

"I was in Italy a few years ago-it's amazing, that's for sure. Old, beautiful...like a painting, you know?" Seth's eyes were wide as he listened to me and I could see his eagerness for other places, other scenery. "This area, though," I said, looking around appreciatively, "this is gorgeous, too!" I meant it. I had never really had the chance to explore in this part off the world but I definitely hoped to get the chance. To be living right inside a temperate rainforest? Inside a Native American 'country', too? What an opportunity...all things being equal. Seth looked around again and some of the boyishness slid away and was replaced by a slightly more mature expression. The look on his face hinted at levels of knowledge and maturity I had not expected to see in this large youth's face.

"It is beautiful," he said quietly. His eyes, though were not really focused. Suddenly he stopped and looked down the road. With a laugh he raised his hand and yelled. Looking in the same direction, I saw one of the guys, Quil, coming down from the school with a very tiny little girl running in front of him. She was bundled up from the cold but Quil, like Seth and the other guys at Emily's, come to think of it, was only wearing a light tee-shirt with his jeans and a pair of sneakers. Quil was larger than Seth in many ways. He was extremely muscular and at least five inches taller. His hair, like Seth and their other friends, was cut very short but was a deep chocolate brown, unlike Seth's sandy-brown locks. The little girl had braided pigtails and a, adorable smile. She was running towards us and Seth caught her up and swung her around. She had to be maybe 5 years old, more or less, and as cute as a button. I assumed her to be the 'Claire' I was told about and felt pretty sure that Quil must be her father or uncle or something from the protective vibe he was giving off. He was pretty young, though, but who was I to judge?

"Sef! Sef!" Claire lisped. "Put me down, Sef!" She was giggling and yelling and "Sef" started tickling her so that the giggles became totally infectious and I found myself laughing so hard that tears sprang to my eyes. I had never had much chance to be around children but this little cutey was an absolute doll! I looked up after drying my eyes and caught such a look of love on Quil's face! Definitely the dad, I thought. Proud papa, too. He was grinning now and took Claire out of Seth's big hands and put her up on his massive shoulders.

"What are you two up to today?" he asked, looking significantly at me. I smirked.

"I'm being let out for some air. Is that alright with you?" I quipped back. He looked shocked for a minute but then I smiled and he seemed to calm down. It was of intense interest to me that these people were so determined to keep me here but at the same time wanted me to be happy about it. How do you react to that? In one of two ways, I guess. You either fight it or you at least pretend to go with the flow. Fighting it would only build a wall. And that wall would prevent my learning what the heck was really going on around here. So 'joining them' seemed the better option, right?

"Well...um...that's great! See the sights. La Push is great, right Seth? I mean...there's not a ton to see or do...but it's...," he stalled out. I came to the rescue seeing as how I was the one to make things just a tad awkward, anyway.

"It's beautiful! Seth has been showing me around...taking a little tour...it's nice!" And I meant it...he could see that. I could feel him relax. Of all the guys, except possibly Seth, he seemed the most relaxed. I pegged him as a pretty happy, optimistic fellow, willing to see the bright side of a cloudy day, if given half a chance. Little Claire here was obviously his pride and joy. She had gotten down and was picking up rocks on the side of the road and stuffing them in her pockets.

"Look at dis one, Quiw!" she commanded. Hmm...'Quiw'/Quil not 'daddy'. Okay...maybe the 'uncle' idea was more on target. "Look at dis one!" her high-pitched voice went up a few decibels causing us to involuntarily join her and examine her find. It was a broken piece of quartz. It had shattered in such a way that all the little crystal faces could be clearly seen and in the rare sunlight that had peeped out in the last hour, it seemed to shine and glitter in a way that fascinated the child. Quil bent down from his colossal height to admire her treasure as she oohed and ahhed over it.

"It's shiny! Pretty, huh, Quiw? It's pretty?" She was a very insistent little thing. He smiled and then very seriously replied:

"Very shiny and pretty! You found a great rock there, sweetie," his voice was so sweet and tender. I was reminded of walks I had taken with Grandpa years ago when I was around Claire's age. He would so patiently explain things to me and listen when I got excited. A lump formed in my throat suddenly and I glanced away from the unlikely duo and looked out at the sea and the boats and breathed deeply the salty air until the moment passed.

"It's cold, too. Shiny, sparkawee, cold! Shiny, sparkawee, cold!" She sang this over and over, giggling up into Quil's adoring face. Taking the much admired stone and looking really closely at it, she stopped her chanting to look at Quil questioningly. "Is Bewwa shiny, sparkawee, cold now, too, Quiw? Is she cold?" He eyes were wide and very intent as she asked this strange and imminently interesting question. The two boys seemed to freeze and I could sense that they were doing all they could to not look at me. Hmm. 'Shiny, sparkly,...cold?' Interesting. Pretending to not pay attention I edged my body so that I was facing slightly away from the group and out to sea. If they looked up they would hopefully see a person absorbed with the sights and sounds of the marina and not with their conversation.

As the tension slowly began to drain from the situation, a tiny flicker of a smile escaped my lips. What was it Grandpa used to say? "Never rule out a source." That's right. I smiled again. "Informants come in all shapes and sizes." Boy was he right! I had identified a very valuable informant in the smallest of packages and I was not about to miss any chance that came my way to learn all this little imp might tell me.

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So there you go-I'm writing more asap-Reviews speed the process! :-)


	8. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

"Zenith" is a very special story to me and I hope to all of you. However, it is also a much harder story for me to write than was "Daybreak". I am currently working on additional chapters for "Zenith" but I also am working on several non-fanfiction writings, as well.

Please let me know via "Submit Reviews" if you really would like to know what happened to Lori and how that all played out. I know you are reading it-but without your reviews I have a hard time knowing what the readers are thinking about the story.

So please review and let me and other readers know what you think.

Thanks a lot!

Rainbowjellyfish


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